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HOUSTON – Only two days passed, and the Warriors and Rockets became entirely different teams.

The Warriors offensive depth suddenly shrank. The Rockets suddenly changed from an iso-heavy team to one that also moved the ball. And the Warriors suddenly showed their regular-season sloppiness instead of postseason intensity.

Mix those trends together, and it should not be surprising the Warriors finished with a 127-105 Game 2 loss to the Rockets on Wednesday to tie the Western Conference Finals at 1-1. The development sharply contrasted the Warriors dominating Game 1 win over Houston on Monday.

Exact opposite of Game 1, Warriors coach Steve Kerr summed up.

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Instead of showing strength in numbers, the Warriors lacked balance. Warriors forward Kevin Durant nearly did everything with 38 points on 13-of-22 shooting, 3-of-7 from 3-point range and 9-of-9 from the free-throw line. But Warriors guard Stephen Curry lacked perimeter shooting (16 points on 7-of-19 shooting and 1-of-8 from 3-point range. Warriors forward Draymond Green lacked intensity (six points, six rebounds, six assists). And Warriors guard Klay Thompson (eight points on 3-of-11 shooting) no longer received as many open looks as he did in Game 1 (28 points). The Warriors  ball movement suddenly evaporated en route to a 9-of-30 clip from 3-point range.

I just think our game plan discipline wasnt good, Green said. We knew what type of force theyd come out with. Its nothing we havent seen before. We just didnt have really good game-plan discipline.

And to think, the Rockets appeared guilty of lacking those qualities in Game 1.

Instead of the Rockets overly relying on James Harden in isolation, Houston leaned on him with swift ball movement. Harden posted 27 points on only 9-of-24 shooting, a far cry from the 41 points he posted in Game 1. Unlike in Game 1, though, Harden had help from Eric Gordon (27 points), PJ Tucker (playoff career-high 22) Trevor Ariza (19) and Chris Paul (16). This happened two days after Tucker had only one point in Game 1 and when Ariza recorded as many fouls (five) as points (eight).

We were trying to be too cute with our exchanges and our switches and all that stuff instead of just manning up and playing one-on-one defense, said Curry, who insisted he felt physically fine from his previous left knee injury. Whether they score or not, as hard as were working on the defensive end, theyre working as hard on the offensive end to get shots up.

Afterwards, Rockets coach Mike DAntoni joked he changed his system from the wide-open California offense to the triple threat. In all seriousness, the Rockets still played an offense that featured isolation plays and 3-point shots (16-of-42). But the Rockets also moved the ball at a quicker pace.

Youre not going to come in and change the way you play. Thats the way we played all year, said DAntoni, who oversaw an offense that ranked only second in the regular season (112.4 points per game) behind Golden State (113.5). Guys believe it and were not going to change anything up. That would be silly on my part to panic. You dont do that. Were very comfortable about who are, and we can beat anybody anywhere at any time playing the way we play.

The Rockets played better the way they played because they forced 15 turnovers, including seven in the first quarter. With the Warriors posting only nine turnovers in Game 1, Kerr called the increase in turnovers to be the most disappointing thing. Thats because Green observed they found their rhythm off the turnovers. The Warriors committed five of those in the first five minutes.

I take full responsibility for the start of the game, said Durant, who had five turnovers for the whole game. After that, its contagious. After that, the teammates follow my lead. I cant start the game off like that.

Such starts usually reflected either the Warriors regular-season apathy or their flair for the dramatic. In one third-quarter sequence, Green committed turnovers on consecutive possessions.

Yet, the Warriors usually overcame that with their star-studded talent and late-game push. In Game 2, though, none of those developments emerged. The Rockets widened their lead to 117-91 with 5:33 remaining after going on a 17-4 run. The Warriors also missed six consecutive shots

Nonetheless, the Warriors still have home-court advantage entering Game 3 on Sunday at Oracle Arena. Both teams have downplayed that development, arguing health and play bode as more important factors. And when it comes to Wednesday, the Warriors squandered an opportunity to take command of a series in their first Game 2 loss since posting 10 consecutive Game 2 wins since the 2015 NBA Finals.

We got everything we deserved. They kicked our butts; no other way to say it, Kerr said. It often comes down to which one has the edge in terms of the aggression and desperation. They were desperate tonight. We didnt. The results showed.